ephemeral
by midnightluck
Summary: Luffy stumbles into a magic wish and doesn't think for a second that it might backfire. Now Law has to work with Luffy's magically-appearing possibly-zombie brother to get Luffy back. Why couldn't he have just wished for meat?


_Teeechnically the request was for Law/Sabo, so I tried? It's mostly subtext. Also yes that's a stealth TRC crossover because I can't help myself_

The problem with Luffy, Law thinks, is that he's lucky. The world bends itself to his whims, and he deals with consequences if and when they pop up.

He's lucky, and he's never been otherwise. Law wants to hate him for it, he really does, but Luffy's so...clueless, and so generous with those he likes that it's truly boggling. Law grew up with so little, and had to fight and scrape for just his life, and here's Luffy, who just stumbles into a magical wish.

It's not fair, but Law's life has never been fair, so he bites his lip and stands beside Luffy, who's thinking pretty hard for an answer Law already predicted.

"Any wish?" Luffy says instead of _meat_ , and Law blinks and starts paying attention.

"Any wish at all," says the creature, billowy and tall and ephemeral, all twisty-wind and glitterbright. Law's eyes keep skating by, and focusing on it is starting to give him a headache.

Luffy opens his mouth, but Law beats him to it. "What's the cost?"

The creature makes a noise that's half breeze and half sigh, and it flips vertically in place and Law can't even tell if it's upside down now or not. "Just a little cost," it promises. "Just in proportion to the wish. Almost nothing, really."

Right, sure it is. "I don't like this, Luffy-ya," he says, turning to his-ally? Friend?-ally. "I don't think-"

"I want Sabo back!" Luffy says, bouncing in place.

The conglomeration shudders and warms a few shades. "A life for a life," it says, and, "Done and _done_."

Law's already on his toes and he grabs Luffy's shoulder at the first sharp movement, pulling him back and away. "I _told_ you-" he mutters to himself, but Luffy's stretching instead of moving, so Law throws him to the ground instead.

"Whoaaaa!" Luffy's saying, and Law pushes him down further and closes his eyes against the shine that's everywhere. He ducks his head, muttering more awful words because now there's _glitter_. Glitter never goes away, and being sparkly doesn't do much for his reputation.

Something thumps down far too close and Law's already rolling back, heels over head, to get some room. He comes up on one knee with his hands on Kikoku and thinks some more nasty words because _glitter_.

He's so salty that it takes him a whole second to realize the invective he's hearing is not from him. He risks slitting his eyes open just enough to see the glitter start to settle around the vague outline of a person who was absolutely not there just a second ago.

They're on the other side of Luffy, and Law reacts without thinking, throwing up a Room and Shambles-ing himself with Luffy, already mid-lunge. He pins the person before they can get up and has his sword out and resting against their-well, okay, in the _vague area_ of their throat. He slides it another inch to the side, high up under the ear where it's an actual threat, and the person under him stills.

He gets his first look while still blinking glitter out of his eyes, and has to take a second to fully appreciate the...outfit the blond guy is wearing.

"What-?" he starts, and then the blond throws a teacup towards his face, shifts his hips, slams his shoulders down, and kicks straight up with his entire body, forcing Law to fall back or catch a foot to the face, and with the point on those heels, Law's not willing to risk it.

The guy squirms off and around, swinging his legs under him in a smooth move and rising easily to his feet. "Usually I at least get a name first," he drawls, and Law only gets a moment to notice that the hideous green shirt is framing some really impressive abs before the guy is tackled back down to the ground.

"Saaaaaaabo!" Luffy yells, and Law pauses a moment.

"What..? Oh, _Luffy?"_ The blond says, and wraps both arms around Luffy. "Luffy! What are you doing here?"

"I made a wish!" Luffy tells him happily. "I wished you'd come back, and you did!"

"Look at you! You've gotten so big!" He puts both hands on Luffy's shoulders and pushes him back to look at, and Luffy goes, letting his arms stretch so he can keep up his hug.

"Shishishi, of course I have! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Little Luff," he says, pulling him in for a hug. "But where are we?"

"The Grand Line!" Luffy says, throwing his arms wide. "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates, and I got a crew and a ship!"

"I know," he says, rubbing Luffy's hat into his head, and Luffy lets him? which is unexpected, to say the least.

"Luffy-ya," he says, drawing both their attention, and Luffy's already bouncing over to introduce him before Law has to ask.

"Traffy! Look, look! It's my brother Sabo! He was dead, but now he's not! Isn't he cool?"

Law takes in the blue stiletto heels, fish-print boxers, open green flannel shirt, half-tied lace scarf-thing and blue top hat. "Sure," he says, meeting Sabo's gaze and popping an eyebrow. "Cool."

Sabo smiles wide and tips his hat, but not enough to break eye contact. "Nice to meet you, I'm sure. Traffic, was it?"

"Trafalgar Law, actually," Law says, and doesn't offer a hand.

"I've heard of you," Sabo says, and from his tone, it hasn't all been positive.

"I've never heard about you," Law shoots back.

Sabo ignores this magnificently. "What's the Surgeon of Death doing hanging around my little brother?"

"Traffy's my friend!" Luffy says. "We're gonna fight a flamingo together!"

"A flamingo?" Law says nothing and doesn't take his hand off his sword, but this Sabo character is apparently not dumb at all, and his hands tighten on Luffy's shoulders. "You don't mean Doflamingo, do you?"

If Sabo can blatantly ignore baiting comments, so can Law. "Is this really the time for this?" he asks, and Sabo narrows his eyes.

"If you're going to be dragging my little brother into danger-" he starts, but then there's movement on the ground and they both shut up and reorient on the potential threat.

It's the glitter, because of course it is. It's swirling up like it's being caught in wind, only the air is still.

"Luffy," Sabo says, quiet and serious. "How did I get here?"

"I made a wish," Luffy says, and Sabo makes a quiet hurt noise and pulls him closer by the shoulders, letting one hand drop, and Law prepares to draw Kikoku.

The glitter sweeps up into a small whirlwind, circling around the three of them. It's sharp enough to be dangerous now, and Law draws in closer. Sabo's put Luffy at his back, facing the wind, and Law does the same on the other side.

The glitter funnel in narrowing in on them, and Law can feel Luffy pushing up against his back, and someone's saying something, he thinks, but everything is drowned out by the roar of the glitter tornado. His Room's still active, though, and he reaches out, grabbing onto a few pebbles on the outside edge, takes a deep breath and _pulls_.

The landing is rough, because it always is when he can't see what he's switching with, and he hits the dirt hard. He rolls to come up low and glances over to the other side. There's only one figure, though, and that top hat is clearly not Luffy's.

He grabs the pebble that's supposed to be Luffy and throws it towards the glitter whirlwind, reaching out and tagging Luffy as the Shambles target. The lurch he associates with it is there, but Luffy's not.

"Luffy!" Sabo yells. He's starting towards the tornado at a run, ignoring the way the little bits of glitter are scoring across his face and chest, when a voice rumbles out of it.

"The wish has been granted," it booms. "A life for a life, and the payment comes due."

Sabo charges into the deadly storm, and the glitter just stops, hanging still in the air for a heartbeat, and then it explodes outwards, and Luffy is gone.

Not that Law can tell right away, because he's busy blinking glitter out of his eyes, _again_. He goes to say something nasty, but this Sabo guy beats him to it, _again_.

It is, Law can tell, going to be a very bad day.

Sabo's standing where the glitter exploded, and he's still and sparkly. Law watches the line of his shoulders warily. He's still an unknown, and Law's braced from anything from accusations to fist fights.

"What," Sabo says, still facing away, "happened there?"

Law doesn't drop his Room, not yet, because a temper that runs cold is more dangerous than a fiery one. "I tried to get all three of us out of there," he says. "Something kept it from working on Luffy-ya."

"And so my brother was abducted on his own."

Law draws in one calming breath and takes a gamble. "I intend to get him back," he says.

And finally Sabo moves, turning around and taking off his hat to tap glitter off, but for all that falls off, twice as much remains.

"So do I," Sabo says, and comes back towards Law, steps measured and steady. "Tell me everything you know."

Law just shrugs because he's not about to let this guy take control of this. He appeared from a wish, and Luffy had said he was dead. Law doesn't know him, and for all Luffy had seemed to, he is absolutely untrustworthy.

On the other hand, he does need all the help he can get, and Sabo does seem to be legitimately concerned over Luffy, and that's not nothing.

"We should split up," Sabo says, eyes already distant. "Canvas the neighborhood, chat up the locals, ask if they know anything about this."

"Like hell," Law shoots back. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

That actually gets Sabo's attention. "What? Why?"

"Because," Law says, "for all I know, you're actually an illusion or some fae creature and not a zombie of Luffy's dead brother at all."

"A what?"

"Luffy said you were dead."

"Wha-I'm not dead!"

"Neither are zombies, not technically."

Sabo huffs. "Yes they are. But no, there was a-" and his fingers flutter up til he stops them "-an _incident_ when we were kids. He might've thought- But no, I was never dead."

But that's interesting, is what it is, and Law frowns over it. For all Law's found about Strawhat Luffy and his crew, there really isn't much information to be had of his past or family, besides, potentially, the terrifying Marine who shares his name, but that might be simple coincidence. Law hopes really hard that it is, but has a sinking feeling that it's not.

"That might be our in," he says instead. "But we have to find them first."

Sabo nods and sticks out a hand. "Truce? For Luffy?"

It takes Law a second to fully overthink it, but he takes the hand and shakes it, and finally drops his Room. "Truce," he agrees, "but I'll be watching."

Sabo's grip is firm and his hand is dry and rough, calloused from hard work. He holds it a moment too long to be polite and catches Law's eye again. "You know," he says, "I'm kinda glad you're like this."

Law hesitates just a moment, thinking many things and saying none of them, and Sabo continues. "Luffy needs someone around who's paranoid and mistrustful," he says, and drops his hand and turns away.

Law tells himself he's not bitter and takes a breath to refocus and get back on track. "What's the plan?"

Sabo's already on the move, and Law has to hurry to catch up. "We start in town," he says. "If it appeared around here this time, maybe it has before. Local legends, the elderly, a library, maybe? You go for books and I'll talk to people. Oh, no, you didn't want to split up, right? Then we start in the town square and work outwards. Stay on my heels and try to look approachable." He glances over. "Or maybe just wait a few feet back."

He bites back his response because the thing is, is it's a good plan. Just because it was delivered ruthlessly and insultingly does not negate that, and it's probably their best chance to save Luffy. And also it'll give him some time to watch how this guy works.

But there's at least one thing he has to know. "One question," he says, finally falling in step beside Sabo.

"Mmm?"

"What _are_ you wearing?"

Sabo sniffs and sticks his nose in the air. "I was in the middle of a very important mission when I was whisked away by the glitter fairies," he says, and Law remembers the tea cup and can't help the snort.

"A mission," he repeats.

"Are you deaf as well as scowly?"

"Are you always this rude?"

"Only to people who lose my brothers," Sabo demurs.

"I didn't _lose_ him; that thing stole him."

"Semantics."

Law grumbles, "dumbest definition of semantics I've ever heard," and it's just loud enough to be heard and just quiet enough to be ignored.

Sabo does, ignoring him all the way into town and to the market. He swans to a stop next to the first stall on the left, and Law hangs a bit further back as instructed. He pokes around a different table, and the next one over catches his eye. There's a whole display of old coins, and he leans in closer.

He knows most of them and has several, but there's a couple he wouldn't mind having for his collection. A bit of bargaining gets him three, and he sticks them in his pocket just as Sabo appears at his elbow, in an entirely different outfit.

He's found a blue jacket somewhere, and actual pants and solid-looking boots. It's a lot more respectable and a much better look for him, though it shows significantly less skin.

"How did you do that so fast?" Law asks. Sabo'd only been gone a few minutes.

Sabo just shrugs. "It's my job," he says, and crowds Law until he starts moving. "C'mon, we gotta get across town to the post office."

"What's at the post office?"

"Not a what, a who." And that's all he gets until they stop a fair distance away from a building with a porch, containing a perch for coos, a rocking chair, and the fiercest old woman Law has ever seen.

Her face is craggy and her hair is grey, and she looks like she has iron for blood. She's knitting something, two needles working at an incredible speed as she rocks gently.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Law asks, eyeing the incredibly intimidating lady.

"Trust me," Sabo says, and the grin on his face is anything but trustworthy. Law scoffs, but he doesn't wait for an answer, striding right up to the house. "Excuse me, ma'am?" he says, sweeping his hat off and holding it to his chest.

She stops rocking but not knitting, and looks up at them. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Sabo flashes her a smile, all charm and trouble. "I'm hoping so," he admits, and approaches the porch. "Miss Layfield?"

"Who's asking?" Her eyes are sharp and her fingers do not miss a stitch.

"Mr. Hinshaw directed me to you," he says, and falls into a relaxed stance just at the foot of the stairs. "I was looking for information on local fairies, and he said you'd know."

Her fingers slow, and she sets her needles down. "What's a nice young lad like you wanting with something as dangerous as the Fair Folk?"

"A passing interest only, ma'am," he says, and leans in just a bit. "My friend here," and he gestures to Law, who keeps his face straight, "is writing a book, you see. _Fairy Tales of the Grand Line!_ "

Her eyes dart to him, and he almost unconsciously straightens his spine and tries not to fidget. "Is he now?"

Law bobs his head, and Sabo takes back over. "Not so good at people, him, but great at writing, S'why I'm along, to help gather. Are there any tales of the island that you can share with us?"

She looks between the two of them. "A book, hmm?" Her fingers dart out and gesture imperiously at Law. "Come here, young man."

He goes, climbing the stairs to stand in front of her, and she eyes him, then nods. "There's a local tale, here, of the starshine stealers."

Starshine sounds...poetic, but hopeful. The creature had looked like a barely contained fire, burning bright, and Law dips his head and says, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, boy," she says, and looks back down to take up her needles. Law almost sags at being released from her focus, but only almost. "There's a price, you know. Always is with the Fair Folk."

"I know," Law says. "What can I do for you, Honored Grandmother, to repay you for a story?"

She huffs at him, "You can quit the fancy talk, for one. And a tale for a tale seems only fair. Sit here, boy, and tell me one of the stories you have."

Right, of course. Law knows a lot about a lot and devours books, but he hasn't had time for fairy tales in...a long time. He goes to sit on the stoop, folding his legs up and determinedly not looking over to Sabo.

Well, there's always… "Do you know the story of the girl cursed to sleep for a hundred years?"

She gives him a _look_ and says, "Of course I do, child. Who doesn't?"

Right, all the common ones are out, and any from the Grand Line. If he wants to take down Doflamingo, he needs to save Luffy, and to save Luffy, he'll have to reach further. He steels himself and casts back, back before fire, before night and running and anger, back to happier days. For the first time since, he tries to recall a voice he doesn't quite remember telling a story to someone smaller yet than him.

He closes his eyes and focuses on the words, and he tells a story lost when Flevance fell.

It's a story of twin princes, when twins were considered bad luck, and how a far-away kingdom fell apart around them. It's a story of betrayal and woe, of misery and misfortune, and it has a bittersweet ending where one is freed at the expense of the other. The only magic is what people believed in, and the only fairies are imagined.

Still, it is a classic and he heard it often enough that he can lose himself in the telling, and he ends on the traditional words; "...and if the lone prince is not through with his journey, then perhaps he is journeying still."

It's odd, he thinks, letting the silence rest. He hasn't thought of his mother, or his sister, or his childhood in so long, and there's an odd scraped-clean feeling that comes with sharing even an impersonal part of it.

"Thank you," Ms. Layfield says, and Law startles a bit, coming back to reality. Right, there'd been a reason.

"Of course," he says, and if his voice is a bit hoarse, no one says anything.

"That sounded like a very old story," she says. "Where was it from?"

Law keeps his eyes on the ground. "A kingdom that fell a long time."

There's a nudge on his shoulder, and he looks up into mismatched eyes. There's a certain sympathy in them, but also a lift to the brows that clearly indicates he should hurry up.

Law clears his throat and says, "A tale for a tale, then?"

"Oh, of course," she says, and her needles are flying through yarn again. "The starshine stealers, was it? Listen up, boys, I'm only going to tell this once."

Sabo scoots onto the stair beside Law, and they both look up at her as she begins.

"There's a path in the forest north of here, and if you follow it into twilight, it ends in a well. They say the well has water like we don't anymore; real water, true water, water so pure it's potent.

"This water drew people and animals from all over, and even the stars up above longed to try it. And one day, the longing grew so strong that a star threw itself down to earth. Or perhaps it fell. In some few versions, it's even pushed.

"However it happened, the star landed on the island, and it grew itself legs so it might find the well. And it did, and it drank, and all was well, until it wished to return to the sky and found it couldn't.

"Stars fall, you see, but it's a one-way trip. So the star haunts the forest around the well, and sometimes it comes down close to town. It takes children when it can, or the unwary, in hopes of one day collecting enough power to return itself to the sky.

"So we warn our children to be careful. Nothing comes free, and the stars are pretty when away but up close, they burn. And if the children are bad, or if they wander off, or if they misbehave, then the starshine stealer will come along and gobble them up to return to the sky."

And she nods and her needles continue, _clickaclack, clackaclick_. Law watches them, and it's Sabo who stands first.

"Thank you, Miz Layfield," he says, and sketches a bow. "We appreciate your time and your story."

"Of course," she says, and starts herself rocking again. "Mind you boys send me a copy of the book when it's done."

"Of course," Law says, scrambling upwards. He stick his hands in his pockets and nods to her. "Thank you."

She looks at them both, and then waves Law forward. "One last thing," she says, and then drags him in by his collar to say quietly in his ear, "The path to the north starts beside the old signpost, which is due north from the old butcher shop."

He pulls back, and her nod is knowing. "Twilight," she tells them both. "But when the stars come out, it's already too late."

Law glances up to the sun, and it's not nearly as high as he'd like. "Thank you," he says again and means it. Then he grabs Sabo's arm and pulls him away, towards the north.

"That was an interesting story," Sabo says, keeping pace.

"Yeah," Law agrees, because it was, in many ways. "I don't think it's accurate, but it's a start."

"Oh, hers was too, but I meant yours."

Law swallows and looks away. "Wouldn't have had to tell it if you hadn't built such an elaborate lie."

"It totally worked!" Sabo objects, and Law snorts.

"No, it didn't. She totally saw through us."

"Did not," Sabo says petulantly. "Besides, you're good at thinking on your feet." Law's quiet for a moment, and Sabo picks up the slack. "So, where are we headed anyway?"

"Old butcher shop, apparently," Law says, checking the sun again. "It's the next street over."

"You know this island well enough to know where the old butcher shop is?"

Law throws him a look. "I came here with Luffy. I've been here a few hours and I know where _every_ butcher shop is."

Sabo laughs, and it's clear and deeper than Law was expecting. "That's true," he allows. "And what's at this butcher shop, then?"

"Nothing anymore," Law says, and Sabo laughs again. Law shivers and waits it out, then says, "No, apparently the path to the well starts behind it."

"Ah," Sabo says. "Makes sense. Is that why you keep looking at the sun?"

Law shrugs. He hadn't thought Sabo had noticed.

They make it to the shop, and it's easy to find the signpost Ms. Layfield had mentioned; it's tall stone, half-covered in moss, and leaning slightly. There's a slightly worn path next to it, and Law starts down it immediately.

"So what are your intentions towards my little brother?" Sabo asks out of nowhere, and Law trips over nothing and only just manages to not fall over.

"I-what…?" he splutters, but Sabo's just watching him. "Nothing! _Intentions_?!"

"Yeah, your intentions," Sabo repeats. "Are you using him for money? Fame?" Law shakes his head, and Sabo arches an eyebrow. "Sex, then?"

"No!" Law stops walking and takes a deep breath. "No, nothing like that. I just find the way he bends the world...interesting."

Sabo nods. "And Doflamingo?"

This guy's got a brain like a steel trap, Law's starting to realize, and just because something is dropped does not mean it's forgotten. It's something he respects. "We have an alliance to that end," he admits.

"Mmm. And what does Luffy get out of this alliance?"

Law frowns. "Actually, I'm not sure anymore. As far as I can tell, what he wants is just fun."

Sabo stares him down for another second, then nods and turns on his heel, starting back up the path. "So you fell under his charm, then."

"What? No, I-"

"-proposed an alliance for a specific cause and ended up falling into his pace and doing whatever he says and finding out you're willing to do things counter to your own agenda because he wants you to?"

"No, not at all," Law says, but it's weak even to his ears.

"Suuuuuuuuure," Sabo says over his shoulder, and Law has to hurry to catch up.

"It's an alliance," Law says again, and Sabo laughs at him some more.

They walk on as the sun sinks. The path winds up a hill and deeper into the woods, but the trees are never so dense as to block the sky completely.

Law is the one to break the easy quiet, asking some leading questions that get him nowhere. Sabo's smart and slippery, and the conversation is a game of trying to discover more about the other than they reveal about themselves. It is, Law reflects, probably the most fun he's had in a long time.

All good things must come to an end, though, and this one lasts as long as the sunlight. The last of the color is fading from the sky when the path finally turns out into a clearing.

It's unusually round and clear with a single small well right in the middle. It's made of stone and perfectly circular, and looks like it came right out of a fairy tale, roof and handle and all.

Sabo wanders up to look down into it, and Law stays a step behind him and alert. At least the creature thing will be easy to spot in the gloom, he thinks, and makes a circuit around the perimeter, just to be sure.

Sabo makes an unhappy noise and pushes back from the well. "Nothing," he says, and then leans down it to call out, "Helloooo!"

It echoes down and nothing happens. Law glances up at the sky once again, and though there are no stars yet, he's very aware of the clock running out.

Sabo must be too, because he kicks the well, and then has to hold his foot and hop and say horrible things for a while. Law listens, both eyebrows up, and marks down some of the more creative ones for later.

But Sabo's moving away from the well, so Law takes his turn to check it out. The stone is smooth and even, the wood is not perfect but also not rotting, and there's no bucket to draw water with.

"It's a well," he says.

"Well, well, well," Sabo retorts, still massaging his toes. "Look at Captain Obvious over here and his knowledge of architecture."

"No need to take out your own stupidity on me," Law says mildly. He looks around, but that's it in this clearing; it's just them and the well and a darkening sky.

"There's nothing out here," Sabo says, finally standing properly again. "There were animals 'til I scared them away just now, and it'd be hard for something that bright to sneak up on us."

"We're missing something," Law agrees, and sticks his hand in his pocket. His palm brushes against cold metal, and oh, of course. "It's a well," he says again. "What do you do at a well?"

He steps up to the very edge and says, "I wish to speak to the one who took Luffy-ya." Then he drops in one of his new coins and leans over to follow it down.

It falls and falls, and though he's listening he doesn't hear it _plink_ into water. It just disappears down past where he can see it, no matter how far over he leans.

"Oh," says Sabo behind him, a sort of soft exhalation, and then stronger, "Hello."

Law jerks back from the well and flips around. Sure enough, there's the creature, large as life and twice as blinding and-yes. There's _glitter_ again.

"You," Law says, hand wrapping around Kikoku's hilt.

The creature-the starshine stealer-wavers briefly, then hisses. "You."

Law glances to Sabo to see if he's gonna take charge, but his eyes are blank and his gaze is far away. Law takes a step forward to draw attention to himself and says, "Give us back Luffy-ya."

It sways and rotates a bit, and Law tells himself it doesn't matter. His fingers itch to throw up a Room, but not yet. The voice comes again, double-timbered and hard. "He made a wish and paid a price."

"But it wasn't a fair price, was it?" Law says. "You said a life for a life, but that's not right, is it?"

"What…?" Sabo says, swaying in towards him, and Law catches his arm and props him upright.

"Didn't you catch it?" Law asks, surprised. "Luffy doesn't have to pay with his life because you weren't ever dead."

"There was no life to give," Sabo murmurs, and manages to push himself upright, but doesn't quite move away.

"Exactly," Law says. "If anything, it was long range transportation. And, as a master of switching things, I can tell you all that takes is some energy."

"And you've had Luffy all afternoon. Surely that's enough energy, even for you?"

It wavers in place, turning a way that his eyes can't quite follow, and then it speaks. "The wish was made. The price was fair."

Law stops for a second to breathe and think.

"I don't think logic is working on the reality-warping fairy creature," Sabo murmurs beside him, and despite everything, Law cracks a smile.

"Oh," Sabo says, quiet and surprised, and Law glances over, but Sabo is looking at him.

He doesn't say anything, though, so Law prompts, "Got any ideas?" He hopes so, because he's out, and he really doesn't want to have to rewrite all his plans yet again.

"Just the one," Sabo says, setting his jaw. "If we can't change the price, maybe we can get a refund."

"A refund?" It's absurd, he thinks, but is it? If they can't change the price, could they invalidate it? "Send you home, and Luffy comes back?"

"Sure," Sabo says, tugging his hat down to shadow his eyes. "If I...leave, I think it'll make the wish unfulfillable."

What a neat solution. Law eyes him sidelong, the set of his mouth and the tilt of his chin, and thinks again that this guy would make a terrifying enemy. "Okay," he says. "How do we get the thing to return you?"

Sabo hesitates a moment, and that's unusual enough that Law turns to face him directly. Sabo meets his eyes, cuts his gaze away for a split second and then he smiles, a small crooked thing. "I think I know how I was brought here," he says. "I think I know how to return."

The creature hisses beside them, and Law tears his eyes away to check the sky. It's not quite velvet dark, not yet, but getting there fast. "Then do it," he says. "You can always go visit Luffy later, as long as we get him back now."

Sabo tilts his head and makes a humming noise. "I wish we'd had a bit more time. I think we could've been--friends, don't you?" He stops, half-raises a hand, then drops it. "Promise me you'll take care of Luffy?"

Law swallows and then nods. "I'll look after him for a while."

Sabo nods. "I trust you," he says, and Law freezes, but he just sweeps off his hat and makes a formal bow. "Trafalgar Law," he says, holding it and looking up. "Thank you."

He's glowing, as he comes apart in motes of glitter and bits of star, and it's pretty in a terrifying kind of way but like no kind of teleportation Law's ever seen, including the one that took Luffy away.

That connects with what Luffy said, and why the price was fair, and Law takes a second to reach a conclusion he really ought to have earlier. There's a whole bunch of words stuck in his mouth, but he manages, "Sabo really is dead, isn't he?"

The Sabo in front of him straightens, mostly vanished, and grins, big and rueful. "You're smart," he says, "and right. I was only a ghost of a memory."

And just like that, he's gone. Law reaches out to try to catch a bit of glitter.

It dissolves under his touch, and the fairy creature that burned like a star makes a noise like a comet. "How dare?!" It shrieks, the resonance driving Law to his knees.

He gets Kikoku out in front of him, just in case, but he can't see anything but light. It explodes upwards and more glitter goes flying, but he can't even bring himself to mind anymore; there's been too much already.

The light cuts out as suddenly as it started, and Law pushes himself up and blinks the light spots out of his eyes. Sitting where the fairy had once stood is Luffy, blinking and completely, entirely, unfairly glitter-free.

"Traffy!" Luffy says, beaming. "Hey, where'd you go?"

Law looks at him, looks at the glitter and the well and the sky, and can't help it. He laughs so hard he shakes with it.

Luffy laughs with him, and Law falls to sit on the glittery ground, forcing himself to breath. When his lungs are under control again, he says, "Welcome back, Luffy-ya."

"Hey, where'd Sabo go?"

Law leans back on his hands and stares up at the sky, eyes on a big bright star low on the horizon. "He wasn't really here. Sorry."

Luffy nods. "I didn't think it was real," he says, and when Law stares at him, he continues, "Sabo _died_. And if there was a way to come back, he'd already be back."

Law thinks of a sharp smile and hard eyes and has to agree. "The fairy couldn't bring back the dead, I think, so it made you a temporary illusion. But he still loved you," he tells Luffy, because that much he knows for sure.

"Shishishi, I know," Luffy says, and then stretches. "I bet he's having great new adventures wherever he is, but I miss him!"

There's a small unintentional smile on Law's face but he doesn't bother to hide it. "Yeah," he says, eyes on the stars.

There's a breath of quiet, a whole moment, before Luffy bounces up and says, "There wasn't any food in the dark place, and I'm starving!"

"Right, right," Law says, and heaves himself to his feet. A cascade of glitter falls off his clothes and leaves a trail behind them as they head back to town. "Luffy-ya," he calls, interrupting a song that seems to be made up mostly of the word 'meat'. "No more fairies, okay?"

Luffy just laughs and keeps going, leaving Law behind. He sighs as he lengthens his stride. This alliance is gonna be trouble, he knows, but maybe it'll be less of a burden than he originally thought.

No matter how it ends up, though, he made a promise. It was real, even if the person he made it to wasn't, and he intends to see it through.


End file.
